DNS: Forwarding server <IP address> should respond to DNS queries

This topic is intended to address a specific issue identified by a Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer or Best Practices Analyzer scan. You should apply the information in this topic only to computers that have had the DNS Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer or DNS Best Practices Analyzer run against them and are experiencing the issue addressed by this topic. For more information about best practices and scans, see Best Practices Analyzer.

Unresponsive forwarders can cause delays and failures in DNS resolution.

When a DNS query is sent to an unresponsive forwarder, the DNS server will wait for the forwarding timeout period before sending the query to another forwarder, or attempting to use recursion. This can cause delays and failures in DNS resolution. If the DNS server is configured to use root hints when no forwarders respond, this can increase the amount of DNS traffic that is sent to the Internet.

To repair this condition, remove the unresponsive DNS server from the list of forwarders. You can also replace the unresponsive forwarder with a different DNS server that responds to DNS queries.

Membership in Administrators, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete these procedures. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at Local and Domain Default Groups (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83477).

In the console tree, right-click the DNS server and then click Properties.

On the Forwarders tab, click Edit.

In the Edit Forwarders dialog box, under IP Address, click the IP address of the forwarder that is not responding, and then click Delete. Alternatively, you can type the IP address of a different DNS server that you wish to use as a forwarder. Each forwarder in the list should display as OK under Validated. Click OK to finish editing forwarders.